Raystown Lake

Raystown Lake was created when a dam was built across the Raystown Branch of the Juniata River, backing the water up into the long, narrow valley you see today. An earlier, smaller dam had impounded a modest lake here, but the larger project raised the water far higher and flooded miles of the valley, mainly to control the flooding that had long plagued the Juniata basin downstream.

Because the lake follows the shape of a river valley squeezed between mountain ridges, it is long and thin with countless arms and coves rather than a single open basin. The rugged terrain also meant much of the shoreline stayed forested and undeveloped, which is why Raystown feels more like a wild mountain lake than a typical suburban reservoir.

The lake is best known for its water recreation. Its depth and length make it a favorite for boating of every kind, from houseboats that let visitors overnight on the water to kayaks slipping into quiet coves. Anglers fish it for striped bass, lake trout, and other species that thrive in its cold, deep water, and swimmers find clear coves along the shore.

Above the water, the Allegrippis Trails have made Raystown a destination in their own right. This network of purpose-built mountain-bike singletrack is known for its smooth, flowing, roller-coaster ride through the ridgetop forest, and it draws riders from across the region. Hikers and the long Terrace Mountain Trail add more miles of walking through the surrounding woods.

The undeveloped shoreline and surrounding highlands make Raystown a corridor for wildlife. Bald eagles and ospreys hunt the open water, white-tailed deer and black bear range the forested ridges, and the coves and inlets shelter herons, waterfowl, and turtles. In the woods above, wild turkey and songbirds fill the spring mornings.

The mix of deep water, steep forested slopes, and quiet coves creates habitat that is increasingly rare in the settled East. Much of the land around the lake is managed as public recreation and wildlife ground, so a boat trip or a ride on the trails often comes with a sighting of an eagle overhead or a deer at the water's edge.

The Raystown Branch and the wider Juniata valley are part of the ancestral homeland of the Susquehannock and later of the Shawnee and Haudenosaunee peoples, who traveled and settled the river corridors of central Pennsylvania. Warfare, disease, and treaties displaced these communities over the eighteenth century, and descendant nations continue elsewhere today.

The name Raystown recalls an early frontier trading post and settlement in the region during the colonial era, when the Juniata valley was a contested frontier. The valley was later farmed and its river used for transport, and in the twentieth century the reservoir turned a flood-prone stretch of the Raystown Branch into the recreation lake central Pennsylvanians treasure today.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.